Movable vehicle lift post with roller elements for supporting pit cover plastes



Oct. 15, 1963 1. v. K. HOTT 3,106,933

MOVABLE VEHICLE LIFT POST WITH ROLLER ELEMENTS FQR SUPPORTING PIT COVER PLATES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 1, 1962 INVENTOR. ION MK. H 0 TT Oct. 15, 1963 1. v. K. HOTT 3,106,983

MOVABLE VEHICLE LIFT POST WITH ROLLER ELEMENTS FOR SUPPORTING PIT COVER PLATES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 1, 1962 INVENTOR. ION MK- HOTT United States Patent 3,llle,9t;8 MQVABLE VEHiCLE LEFT PEST WlTi RQLLER ELEMENTS FUR SUFPGRTWG F11 CGVER PLATES Eon V. K. Hott, Dayton, Ghio, assignor to The .loycegridland Company, Dayton, @hio, a corporation of are Filed 8st. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 227,415 9 Claims. (Ci. 187--8.45}

This invention relates to a motor vehicle lift and more particularly to a lift of the type known as a movable post lift. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 129,397, filed on August 4, 1961 and now abandoned.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved movable post type lift wherein the various elements of the lift may be rapidly and easily positioned for engagement with the axle or other portion of a motor vehicle.

A further object of this invention is to provide an assembly of movable and fixed post lifts interrelated so as to provide a single lift installation capable of use with numerous types of motor vehicles.

Other objects and advantages reside in the construction of parts, the combination thereof, the method of manufacture and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view with portions cut away illustrating an installation of a movable and a fixed post lift made in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a partial perspective view of the lift installation of FIGURE 1 enclosed within arcuate line 2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, Vfilll parts in crosssection, of the lift installation as viewed in the direction of arrows 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a dolly used to support a movable piston of the lift installation of FIG- URE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View of a tool used to adjust various portions of the lift installation described herein.

FIGURE 6 is a schematic view of a combined lift installation and the control therefor made in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the combined installation of FIGURE 5 and illustrates the manner in which a tractor and semi-trailer may be elevated by the lift mechanism described herein.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a motor vehicle lift installation is illustrated of the type employing a pair of spaced.

lift posts 1 3 and 12. The posts 1% and 12 are of the usual type having a casing or cylinder 14 located beneath the ground or floor level and a plunger or piston 16, mounted for longitudinal and rotary movement therein. Superstructures including bolsters l3 and 19 are fixedly mounted on the posts 10 and 12 respectively. The bolster 13 is provided with a pair of laterally slidable load support members 2d adapted to be positioned thereon in a loca tion suitable to engage the axles or other portions of the underside of a motor vehicle. Similarly, the bolster 19 is provided with load support members 21.

The installation shown in FIGURE 1 is commonly referred to as a movable post or piston lift because the post 19 is movable longitudinally of a relatively large pit 22 formed Within the floor or ground. The fixed post 12, which is adapted to engage the rear axle or other portion of a vehicle, is located within a pit or well aligned with the pit 22, as indicated by dotted lines 24 in FIGURE 1. Following conventional practice, the superstructure of the fixed post 12, comprising elements :19 and 21, may be lowered into a recess '26 within the floor. When lowered, a pair of hinged cover members 27, supported by rods 27a, cover the superstructure within the recess 26. The cover support rods 27a, which are mounted centrally of the recess 26, engage within apertures 27b in the bolster l9 to guide it when raised or lowered. As usual, a control pit or recess is located adjacent one end of the movable pit 22 and covered by a cover plate, designated 28 in FIGURE l. The general arrangement of a fixed post and a movable post lift, shown in FIGURE 1, is well known in the art. This arrangement is useful since the movable post may be longitudinally adjusted so as to vary the separation between the movable and fixed posts to accommodate motor vehicles having different lengdis. Also, the load support members 21 and 21} may be laterally adjusted to accommodate varying widths of automobiles and other motor vehicles. The structure and function of suitable supports 2% and 21 are described more fully in my said copending application, Serial No. 129,397. This invention is directed to an improvement in lifts of this type wherein adjustment of the movable post or piston may be made manually with little elfort required on the part of the attendant or operator of the lift.

Referring to FIGURES 3 and 4, the movable post It) is shown as supported on a dolly 39. The dolly 3t) may comprise a base support plate 32 which is apertured, as shown at 32a, to receive the cylinder or casing 14 of the post 19. For this purpose, an upper portion of the casing 14- is enlarged (see FIGURE 1) so as to overlap the margins of the aperture 32a in the base plate 32. The casing may be held in a fixed position with respect to the dolly 30 by welding or by bolts or the like (not shown) connecting the two members together. The dolly further comprises four sidewalls 34, forming a rectangle, projecting upwardly and normally from the margins of the base plate 32. A flange 36 is provided on the top of each of the leading and trailing sidewalls 34 to which a pair of axles 38 are afiixed by means of angle bolts 40. The outer ends of the axles 38 are provided with dolly wheels 42 adapted to roll on a track formed by lower leg portions 44 of a pair of longitudinally extending parallel channel members 46 embedded in the floor surrounding the pit 22 along its upper longitudinal margins. The dolly 30 could take other forms, it merely being essential that some form of lift post dolly having wheels adapted to engage the track formed by the leg portions 44 is provided. As will be made apparent later, the top surface of the dolly must be below the level of the floor adjacent the pit.

For safety, it is essential that the pit 22 be covered at all times during use of the movable lift post 19. Accordingly, a plurality of cover plates 50 are mounted for sliding movement along with the post 10 over the pit 22, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. In the past, cover plates such as these have been wider than the pit which they cover and directly slidable on the surfaces adjacent the pit. Therefore, it has been ncessary to provide thick heavy metal, such as steel plate, so that the plates have sufficient rigidity to withstand the loads to which they may be subjected in use. Thus the plates have been comparatively heavy and special mechanism such as gears or the like have been provided to slide the plates and the dolly along the length of the pit.

In accordance with th s invention, the channels 46 are provided with an upper leg portion 52 which projects a considerable distance inwardly of the pit beyond the vertical plane of the pit sidewalls, designated 54. The top surface of the upper leg portions 52, of course, most desirably lie coplanar with the surface of the floor in which the pit is located. Since the portions 52 extend inwardly of the pit beyond the vertical plane of the sidewalls 54, the cover plates may be correspondingly narrower. With this construction, it has been found possible to use relatively lightweight aluminum alloy metals for the cover plates. Further, since narrow, the cover plates may be relatively thin and still not bend or fiex under loads. Rather than support the cover plates 50 directly upon the top surface of the upperleg portions 52, a plurality of roller assemblies 56 are provided, each comprising anti-friction rollers 58'rmounted for rotation upon stud axles 60 within brackets 62 Welded to the underside of the leg portions 52. The anti-friction rollers 58 project slightly above the top surface of the leg portions 52 so as to form the sole support for the cover plates 50. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, two of the cover plates 59 are attached to the dolly 30 by bolts 64 projecting through apertures in the cover plates 55 into aperturedplates 66 afiixed to the top of the dolly 30. Pairs of cover plates 50' may be coupled together by means of pins 68 projecting normally from the outer end of the top surface of one cover plate Which interfit within aligned apertures in the end of another supplementary cover plate (not shown) With this construction, the movable post 10 may be moved from one end of the pit to the other. As portions of the pit are uncovered, additional cover plates may be coupled to the cover plates 50 in a manner Well known in the art. A pair of beads 7 extend longitudinally along the top surface of the opposed upper leg portions 52 so as to provide a guide for the cover plates 56. The outer ends of the plates 50 rest upon channels 48 located along the upper margins of the ends of the pit 22. The top surface of the channels 48 are substantially coplanar with the floor surrounding the pit in order to guide the plates over the floor surface as the post is moved.

From the above description, it is apparent that the movable post alon with the cover plates 54 may be moved longitudinally of the pit 22 with little effort on the part of the operator. The bolster 18 is provided with an eyelet 72 on one side thereof which may be engaged by a hook 73 on the end of a long rod or tool 75 (FIGURE 5) whereby the operator merely inserts the hook 73 into the eyelet '72 to push or pull the assembly to a desired position.

The cover plates 50 normally will easily roll over the pit .22, with their bottom surfaces engaged with the rollers 58. However, should the plates 5% adjacent the dolly 34) be too tightly secured thereto, these plates 50 may bind against the rollers 58. This could happen in the event an operator or attendant should tighten the bolts 64 too much. Also, manufacturing tolerances may be such that the plates '50 adjacent the dolly 30 may, in some cases, bind against adjacent rollers 58. To avoid this problem, a roll pin or the like, designated 76 in FIGURE 3, is located within a transverse aperture in the lower end of each bolt 64-. The roll pins 76 prevent the bolts 64 from being tightened too much. In addition, a spring 78 is located in encircling relation to each pin 64 between the roll pins 76 and the underside of the plates 50. The springs 78 bias the plates 5% upwardly of the dolly 34? so that the rollers 58 normally do not support the entire weight of the plates. Because the plates 50 are biased upwardly, there is little likelihood that they would bind against the rollers 58. a

To initially align the truck or other motor vehicle to be lifted by the installation disclosed in FIGURE 1, a wheel locating or spotting plate 86 is mounted adjacent the fixed post 12. As noted above, the fixed post 12 is adapted to support the rear axle of the vehicle to be lifted. As is conventional in the art, the plate 86 is fiat but for a pair of parallel upstanding ribs 83 adapted to receive and locate the rearwheels of a vehicle therebetween at a predetermined spaced distance from the fixed post '12. Such plates are usually permanently secured to the floor but may be adjustable along the floor. One method of adjustably 5 mounting the plate 86 is disclosed in my said patent application, Serial No. 129,397.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and 7, an installation employing a pair of movable and fixed post assemblies is illustrated. Thus, there are two movable lift members 109 and 1622 and two fixed members 164- and 1%. An adjustable wheel locating or spotting plate 86a ispositioned on a locating strip 9% adjacent the fixed lift members 104, 106. The members 160 and 104 form one installation While the members 102 and 106 form the second installation. For lifting cars and small trucks, either the unit 164 or the unit 162, 1% may be used. These units are controlled by conventoinal control members 1418, 110, respectively. When used to lift larger vehicle lift structures, such as the tractor and semi-trailer designated T in FIGURE 6, all four lift posts may be utilized. The fixed posts 104, 136 engage the rear axles of the dual rear Wheel tractor while the movable post 109 engages centrally of a beam axle for the dual rear wheels of the trailer. The post 102, accordingly, engages the front axle of the tractor. If desired, the pistons in the fixed members 104, 1% may be rotated within their cylinders to accommodate various Wheel suspension systems. For example, as indicated by dotted lines 196a, the bolster on the member 106 may occupy a position normal to the bolster on the member 194. Due to the flexibility of the four post installation, adjustability of the wheel locating or spotting plate 86a is especially desirable.

When it is desired to utilize all four posts 100, 162, 164 and 106 at the same time, it is necessary to have a central control panel, designated 112 in FIGURE 6. The circuit for the installation is schematically illustrated in FIGURE 6. It includes a central power switch 114 for each of the liftin units. The control panel 112 includes a control lever 118 adapted to control a circuit, designated A, that is interlocked with the control member 198 for the posts 101 and 164. A similar control member 120 is adapted to control a circuit, designated B, for the lift members 192 and 166. The specific construction of the circuit and the control members therefor may be conventional and take any form (not illustrated herein). For example, the lift installation could be controlled by hydraulic valves such as that described in United States Patent No. 2,681,077, entitled, Actuating Apparatus for Plural Valves Controlling Vehicle Lifts. Suifice to say that an operator may stand adjacent the central control levers 118 and 12! and simultaneously operate these members so as to move all the lift posts at the same rate of speed to synchronize the lifting of the tractor and the trailer. The control levers 198, 112, 118 and .120 may be valve operating rods such as that described in the aforementioned patent, No. 2,681,077. For this purpose, the tool 75, shown in FIGURE 5, could be used with the hook 73 serving as the handle portion when used as the valve operating rod.

Although the presently preferred embodiment of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts, the combination thereof and mode of operation, which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, as disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a motor vehicle lift of the type having a lift post movable in a pit, the combination comprising, a pair of channel members placed along the upper longitudinal edges of a pit in parallel relationship, each said channel member having upper and lower leg portions projecting normally of the sides of the pit, the lower leg portions providing a track, a dolly having wheels engaged with the track supporting the post within the pit for movement therealong, a plurality of roller elements supported on the inner margins of said upper leg portions, said roller elements projecting above said upper leg portions, and

cover plate members supported by said roller elements and movable with said lift post longitudinally of said pit.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the upper leg portions project over the pit beyond the sidewalls thereof, the roller elements being mounted on said upper leg portions by brackets attached to the undersides thereof, said cover plate members being considerably narrower than the width of the pit, and wherein guide means are mounted on the top of said upper leg portions for guiding said cover plate members over said pit, whereby said cover plate members may be made from relatively thin lightweight metal and said post and cover plate members may be easily manually positioned longitudinally of the pit.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein connecting means connects one of said plates to said dolly, said connecting means including a spring biasing said one of said plates upwardly.

4. In a motor vehicle lift of the type having a lift post movable in a pit, the combination comprising, a pair of channel members placed along the upper longitudinal edges of a pit in parallel relationship, each said channel member having upper and lower leg portions projecting normally of the sides of the pit, the lower leg portions providing a track, a dolly having wheels engaged with the track supportim the post within the pit for movement therealong, a plurality of roller elements supported by said track, said roller elements projecting above said upper leg portions, and cover plate members supported by said roller elements and movable with said lift post longitudinally of said pit.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein connecting means connects one of said plates to said dolly, said connecting means including a spring biasing said one of said plates upwardly.

6. In a motor vehicle lift of the type having a lift post movable in a pit, the combination comprising, a pair of channel members placed along the upper longitudinal edges of a pit in parallel relationship, each said channel member having upper and lower leg portions projecting normally of the sides of the pit, the lower leg portions providing a track, a dolly having wheels engaged with the track supporting the post Within the pit for movement therealong, at least one cover plate member adapted to overlie said pit and connected to said dolly for movement therewith, and a plurality of roller elements supporting said plate member above said track.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the upper leg portions project over the pit beyond the sidewalls thereof, the roller elements being mounted on said upper leg portions by brackets attached to the undersides thereof, said cover plate members being considerably narrower than the Width of the pit, and wherein guide means are mounted on the top of said upper leg portions for guiding said cover plate members over said pit, whereby said cover plate members may be made from relatively thin lightweight metal and said post and cover plate members may be easily manually positioned longitudinally of the pit.

8. The structure of claim 6 wherein spring means biases at least one of said plates upwardly with respect to said dolly.

9. In a motor vehicle of the type having a lift post supported in a pit for horizontal movement therealong, the combination comprising, a plurality of cover plate members overlying the pit, means connecting said [plates to said post for horizontal movement therewith, and a plurality of roller elements supporting said plates above the sides of said pit.

References titted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,849,777 Weaver Mar. 15, 1932 2,915,357 Weaver Sept. 24, 1935 2,498,304 Sommer Feb. 21, 1950 2,564,289 Walker Aug. 14, 1951 2,708,986 Hott et al May 24, 1955 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,106,988 October 15, 1963 Ion V. K. H-ott It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

line 72, for "rearwheels" read rear for "conventoinal" read after "vehicle" insert Column 3, wheels column 4, line 13, conventional column 6, line 23,

lift Signed and sealed this 14th day of April 1964.

(SEAL) Attest: EDWARD J. BRENNER ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

9. IN A MOTOR VEHICLE OF THE TYPE HAVING A LIFT POST SUPPORTED IN A PIT FOR HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT THEREALONG, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF COVER PLATE MEMBERS OVERLYING THE PIT, MEANS CONNECTING SAID PLATES TO SAID POST FOR HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, AND A PLURALITY OF ROLLER ELEMENTS SUPPORTING SAID PLATES ABOVE THE SIDES OF SAID PIT. 